Connecting structure for beams of a roof support or the like



July 4, 1961 A. VANWERSCH ET AL 2,991,098

CONNECTING STRUCTURE FOR BEAMS OF A ROOF SUPPORT OR THE LIKE OriginalFiled May 23, 1955 v r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTORS Original Filed May 23, 1955 July 4, 1961 A. VANWERS'CH ET ALCONNECTING STRUCTURE FOR BEAMS OF A ROOF SUPPORT OR THE LIKE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 75 80 79 [ml/7a 4 50 Unitcd States Patent F In FranceJuly 8, 1948 Public Law 619, Aug. 23, 1954 Patent expires July 8, 1968 2Claims. (Cl. 287-99) This application is a divisional application of ourcopending application Serial No. 510,204, filed May 23, 1955.

The present invention relates to supporting'structures particularly ofthe type used to support the roof of a mine shaft or the like.

Particular problems are involved in supports of the above type because,on the one hand, they must be robust enough to withstand great forcesand because, on the other hand, they must be flexible enough to conformto whatever shape the roof of the mine shaft or the like happens totake.

One of the objects of the present invention is to solve the aboveproblems by providing connections between a plurality of beams whichlend to the connected beams sufficient flexibility to conform to a givenroof shape and which also lock the beams together in such a way thatthey provide an extremely strong support.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam connectingstructure of the above type which is exceedingly simple and whichprevents angular displacement of a pair of beams with respect to eachother in either direction.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beamarrangement of the above type which may be disassembled whenever desiredto have the beams reversed, for example.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beamadjusting structure which in addition to adjusting the angle between apair of successive beams serves also to lock the beams in their adjustedposition.

With the above objects in view, the present invention mainly consists ofa supporting structure which includes a first beam having a bifurcatedend portion provided with a pair of spaced walls each of which is formedwith openings, the openings of one wall being aligned with those of theother wall. A second beam has an end portion extending between thespaced walls of the first beam and formed with openings aligned withthose of the spaced walls. A pivot pin extends through one set ofaligned openings so that the first and second beams are turnable withrespect to each other to a desired angular position, and one or moreelongated wedge members extend through the other set of aligned openingsfor locking the beams in a given angular position as well as for turningthe beams to the desired angular position.

According to an additional feature of the invention, abutment means aremounted on one of the beams movable between two positions in which theyproject into one of the passages defined by the aligned openings fromone side or the other side respectively for abutting engagement with awedge member inserted in the passage, so that one of the beams iscapable of turning in one or the other direction relative to the otherbeam depending on the position of the abutment means.

The novel features which are considered as character- 2,991,098 PatentedJuly 4, 1961 istic for the invention are set forth in particular in theappended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to itsconstruction and its method of operation, together with additionalobjects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from thefollowing description of a specific embodiment when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectional fragmentary top plan view illustrating anembodiment of the present invention, the section being taken along line11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an element of the construction shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a partial side view of the second beam of the supportingstructure.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that the beam 73 has abifurcated end portion provided with a pair of spaced walls 73' betweenwhich the end portion 72' of the beam 72 freely extends. The beams 72and 73 are supported in a known way by suitable props not shown in thedrawing and serving to hold the beams against the roof of a mine shaftor the like.

The walls of the end portions of beams Hand 73 are respectively formedwith openings 74 which are aligned and through which a pivot pin 74extends so that in this way the beams 72 and 73 are pivotally connectedfor angular movement with respect to each other. Through such angularmovement of the beam it is possible to arrange them so that theycorrespond to the contour of a particular roof to be supported. Thespaced walls 73' of the bifurcated end portions of beam 73 are furtherformed with a pair of aligned openings 7 6 through which a wedge member75 extends. The beam 72 is formed with an elongated opening 77overlapping and extending beyond the openings 76 and provided withelongated projections 77a of substantially V-shaped cross section, forexample. A block or abutment means 78 is located in opening 77 and isprovided at the side faces thereof with grooves 79 which receive theprojections 77a and on the top and bottom faces thereof vw'th preferablycurved abutment faces 80. Block 78 may be made of two interconnectedparts. Thus, the block 78 is slidable along the opening 77, and it willbe seen that the wedge member 75 engages the block 78 at the upperabutment face 80 as well as the beam 73 to lock the beams in a desiredangular position with respect to each other, which will depend to theextent the wedge member 75 is driven through openings 76. With thisarrangement, if the beam 72 is inverted the block 78 will simply fall tothe bottom end of opening 77 and the beam 72 can then be re-assembledwith beam 73 and the parts will again have the arrangement shown in FIG.2.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofsupporting structures dilfering from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inpivotally interconnected beams of a supporting structure, it is notintended to be limited to the details shown, since various modificationsand structural changes may be made without departing in any way from thespirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a supporting structure, in combination, a first beam having abifurcated end portion provided with a pair of spaced walls each ofwhich is formed with a pair of openings, the openings of one of saidwalls being aligned with those of the other of said walls so as todefine a first and a second passage; a second beam having an end portionextending between said walls of said hifurcated end portion of saidfirst beam and formed with an opening aligned with one of said pairs ofaligned openings defining said first passage to provide a set of threealigned openings; a pivot pin extending through said set of threealigned openings and connecting said beams for pivotal movement withrespect to each other from an intermediate position in which said beamsare aligned in longitudinal direction to positions angularly displacedfrom said intermediate position and said second beam being constructedto clear said second passage at least during angular displacement ofsaid beams through a preselected angle to either side of saidintermediate position; abutment means operatively connected to saidsecond beam movable between a first position partly projecting into saidsecond passage from one side at least when said beams are in saidintermediate position, and a second position partly projecting into saidsecond passage from another side opposite said one side at least whensaid beams are in said intermediate position; and a wedge memberextending through said second passage and engaging said abutment means.

2. In a supporting structure, in combination, a first beam having abifurcated end portion provided with a pair of spaced walls each ofwhich is formed with a pair of openings distributed longitudinally alongsaid beam with the openings of one wall aligned with those of the otherwall; a second beam having an end portion extending between said spacedwalls and formed with a pair of openings respectively aligned with thoseof said walls, one of said openings of said second beam being longerthan the pair of openings with which it is aligned; a block slidable insaid one opening of said second beam; 21 wedge member extending throughsaid latter opening and the openings aligned therewith and engaging saidblock; and a pivot pin extending through the remaining openings of saidbeams.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 503,400Belgium June 13, 1951 722,202 Great Britain Jan. 19, 1955 726,000 GreatBritain Mar. 16, 1955 1,009,905 France June 5, 1952

